County Supports Locks On Cop Guns

WEST PALM BEACH — The next time a local police department buys new firearms, the Palm Beach County government wants the weapons to be equipped with safety devices.

The County Commission supported a resolution Tuesday urging the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other local law enforcement agencies to purchase new weapons from manufacturers that equip their guns with trigger-lock devices.

"We should be talking about gun locks until people don't get shot," said Commissioner Burt Aaronson.

The resolution comes as Florida and other states are considering passing new requirements for built-in locks on new handguns. Maryland became the first state to require built-in locks on new handguns, and Massachusetts passed measures requiring guns to come with safety rules. Some gun manufacturers, such as Smith & Wesson, already equip their guns with the locks.

Police departments such as Delray Beach would likely embrace the county's suggestion, even though most of the city's officers already carry guns with built-in locks. With some guns, the safety devices are unlocked when the trigger is pulled in a certain way. The officers rely on the devices to keep themselves and others from getting hurt.

In a letter from Sheriff Robert Neumann that was read by Aaronson, the sheriff said his department received 2,300 donated gun locks in 1998 that can be used on semiautomatic weapons and revolvers. But Neumann said that because his deputies buy their own guns, he wants them to have the freedom to purchase guns from the manufacturers of their choice.

"The gun locks and mechanisms are available to them at any time," he said in the letter.